"The symphony should be like the world" declared Gustav Mahler. "It must embrace everything." And that's exactly what his First Symphony does: beginning with the breathless hush of a world before creation, and ending, trumpets blazing, with a roof-raising conquest of heaven itself. In between come all the dreams and nightmares of a young composer high on his own genius. You simply have to hear it live, as Juanjo Mena and the 大象传媒 Philharmonic explore it together for the very first time.
For Robert Schumann, on the other hand, the centre of the world was his beloved Clara. His lovely Piano Concerto is half virtuoso showpiece, half dreamy love-letter. One thing's for certain: Chethams alumnus Stephen Hough will know exactly how to lay bare its heart.
